


One More Chance

by katychan666



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Muggle, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Fluff, M/M, Reincarnation fic, another chance, au where al and gellert can truly be happy, happy end, one more chance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-14 22:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16921401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katychan666/pseuds/katychan666
Summary: Reborn as a Muggle, Albus holds some of his memories of his past life. The only thing he can't remember is the name of the man that he loved. All of that changes when he meets the man with beautiful eyes and it all comes back to him. Will Albus give Gellert another chance? For him to prove he's completely different man in this life?Reincarnation AU in which Gellert and Albus get another chance to make their relationship work.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok.  
> So  
> I'm quite nervous about this cause idk how it turned out. I hope it's okay at least 1st chapter for now and... Enjoy? Tell me down in the comments if it's good or not lol.

It was a rainy day in London that day, Albus cursing himself for leaving his umbrella at home that one time. Usually when he would have it, it never rained. It was so ironic, really, groaning as he hid beneath a roof of a building.He guessed he would just have to wait there until the rain would stop. And he would again be late for work. Great. His boss wasn't going to be pleased with that, rubbing his palms together and then he hid them into his pockets. It was cold, no wonder, winter was practically there and he shuddered. He hated winter more than anything. Now was when some magic would come in handy. But it was useless, he couldn't use magic anymore. Not since when he was reborn as a Muggle and he rolled his eyes.

Reincarnation. Funny thing, really. At first he didn't know, but then little by little, memories of his past life started coming back to him. A flash of green light, remembering being thrown back and then blackness. But then there was more, he remembered a bird. Which could turn into fire and be reborn from ashes. A Phoenix. And it had a name, was what Albus could recall. Fawkes. Also, he could remember being a teacher on a magical school. Hogwarts. He was a Headmaster for a long time too. But all of that happened way back when. Albus didn't really recall when all of that took place, but it had been a long time since then. That much he knew.

At first he didn't think of this too much, he thought that it was just imagination as he had quite a vivid imagination since he was a child. However, he didn't grow out of this and the memories started getting more and more vivid, in the end finally coming to the realisation that they were probably memories of his past life. What else could it be? He remembered having another mother, brother and a little sister. He couldn't remember their names though, but he knew that something terrible happened to his little sister when he was still a young man.

Albus shuddered and sneezed, finally snapping back to reality and he huffed under his breath. But why being reborn as a Muggle? That seemed ridiculous and he whined. And carrying this other memories of his past life was a lot; he tried to let it go, but he couldn't. His past life was anything but happy. What he also remembered was longing, yearning for the person he loved. It killed him that he couldn’t remember the man’s name. But at the same time, he didn’t know if he should even remember it. He didn’t know why, but there was heartbreak attached to him. Betrayal. Pain. 

Albus puffed his cheeks. All that he could remember were his eyes. They were stunning and beautiful, shuddering just with a little memory of them. His heart became heavy and he shook his head. He should be letting it go, it wasn’t his life anymore. Whatever happened, happened. He got one more chance, another chance to start a happy life. And so far, it had been pretty mundane, nothing special happened. It was boring, his heart yearning for something more. For adventure, magic. But in this new life, where was none of that and a sad smile spread across his face. Yet, still better than heartbreak and betrayal, right?

In the meantime as he was thinking, the weather cleared up a little bit, so Albus realised he should probably get going back to work and he groaned as he started walking towards his office. Slow, heavy steps, turning around in the corner, deciding to take another path to his work. Usually, he didn’t take that one as it took him twice as long to get there. And he was already beyond late, so he didn’t know why… but something was telling him to go  _ there _ , to take another rout to building he worked in. With his hands tucked in his pockets, Albus was slowly muttering to himself, singing as he walked. Then, suddenly he stopped. 

Why?

Albus didn’t know. But he stopped in front of a coffee shop. He had his dose of coffee that day, but his eyes wouldn’t leave the coffee shop, something dragging him inside and he started freaking out, because it was an odd feeling. He should get going, but instead, he just stood there and watched the small coffee shop. There was… something on it that was familiar to him. It was a triangle, with a straight line and a circle around it. He could swear he’d seen it before and again it came with that bittersweet feeling. Love, but also heartbreak and he took in a sharp breath as he didn’t know what to make of it. Maybe it was just a coincidence. But if anything, Albus knew that there were no coincidences. 

Nervously, he made his way to the door and then narrowed his eyes. He was feeling nervous, why? It made no sense to him. It was just a normal coffee shop, right? But his heart was beating with the speed of light and he couldn’t contain his breathing as well as he tried to get his emotions under control, but it was no use. He also felt adrenaline washing over him as he grabbed the door knob and the closer he was to stepping inside, the giddier he felt. His hand was shaking terribly as he finally plucked up the courage and stepped inside, the little bell above him going off and he narrowed his eyes as he looked around.

The coffee shop was small, not many people were on the inside and as he looked towards the bar, he narrowed his eyes. There was no one there. That was kind of unusual and as he was about to leave the coffee shop, something caught his attention. The thing that kept him from leaving were little lemon square cakes and he felt his stomach grumbling. Those were his favourite and he bit his lower lip, looking at the clock and then rubbed the back of his neck. He was already late ten minutes, so what were another ten… right? He just hoped that the owner, or whoever was serving that day, would show up soon. 

As he stood there by the desserts that they served, he was shocked. All of them were his favourites and he got an eerie feeling that it really wasn’t a coincidence that he stepped inside of the coffee shop that day, his breath shaking and he swallowed thickly as he took in a deep breath and then rubbed his palms together. No, it had to be a coincidence. He then looked towards the coffee menu and decided to get one more caffé latte, as he was going to need it anyway after his boss was going to be done with him. 

His boss… she was a feisty woman, reminded him of his old friend he used to know in his previous life. He couldn’t remember her name, but he could recall her personality still; she was a kind soul, but also very strict and firm woman. Never allowed anything to take her down and would always keep on fighting. She used to be his co-worker and remembering her trying to deal with the students was hilarious, it still made him chuckle to this day. And his boss was in a lot of ways like her, just that… they weren’t friends and there were times that Albus found himself wishing to be able to be reunited with his old friend, though he had a feeling that it would be impossible.

Albus then shook his head, snapping himself back to reality again and he started tapping impatiently against the counter with his fingers. The service in the coffee shop was terrible, there still wasn’t anyone there to serve him, rubbing his forehead and he then exhaled. “Hello, anyone in here?” he hollered, in a hope that someone would finally come to his side, but nothing. Ugh. 

Albus didn’t remember seeing the coffee shop the last time that he took this path to his work, then again that was months ago. It had to be new and in his humble opinion, it wasn’t going to last long with this type of service. Though it looked quite cosy; there were paintings on walls, was what Albus noticed next. And the more he observed them, the more he was sure that he had seen them before. There was a Phoenix, of which he knew that he owned in his past life. Then, there was a picture of a castle, next to it a painting of a house. It was kind of retro kind of style, the house looked old and he cocked his head to the side, because he knew that he had seen that house somewhere before. Also, the houses in the background reminded him of a… his eyes widened and he quickly looked down.

Then the door from the back room opened and Albus rolled his eyes. Finally someone decided to grace him with their presence and he straightened himself up as the person started coming closer. A man, slightly taller than him. Hair golden, but that wasn’t what caught Albus’ attention. The thing that held him from breathing were his eyes. They… they were exactly like  _ his _ , the man from Albus’ past life and he had to take a step back and his heart started beating faster, nervous as hell and as the person finally looked at him properly, he froze as well. He had been holding a tray with freshly brewed coffee, but that ended up falling on the floor, startling Albus and he jumped. 

What was going on? Why did the person look as shocked as he did? Did… did he know him as well? Albus didn’t know how to react, so he just made a step back and he bit his lower lip, trying to pretend that he was okay, that his heart wasn’t beating like crazy, Albus’ eyes still on the other’s and he was… it was like he was under some kind of a spell, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from his own. He felt his cheeks reddening when an image crossed his mind.

_ Summer. Old house, like the one in the picture. Laughter. Holding hands. _

Albus snapped back and he narrowed his eyes. Was… was that another memory? That was the first time that he had that particular one and he looked back on the painting. That was his… that was his childhood home, from his past life. That struck him right into the core and he bit into his lower lip as he looked again at the man, who was now coming closer to him again and Albus started shivering.

“Albus,” gasped the person and Albus made a step back.

_ “Albus. With this, we’re bound.” _

Another memory. 

_ This same man, but younger. Gasping, calling out his name, kissing him. Gripping his hand. _

Albus blinked a few times and then he cleared his throat. What the hell was happening? His head was spinning, he had a splitting headache. He had never had such intense memories and all of those he was experiencing for the first one! Albus swallowed thickly and then tried to stay calm. 

“H-how do you k-know my name?” stammered Albus, chewing on his lower lip as he was trying not to look so freaked out, but he couldn’t help himself. This was the man from his memories. The one who he couldn’t remember the name of. Albus was just standing there as the man didn’t even bother picking up the broken cups and the spilled coffee. 

As Albus said that, the other seemed a little deflated and terribly disappointed. “Oh,” whispered the man and then looked down, shaking his head. “You,” he said, his voice sad. “You don’t remember,” he then said and Albus was starting to freak out even more. Oh, God, he was shaking like crazy, because this was so bizarre. He had never actually met anyone from his  _ other _ life and he was shaking. 

_ “I love you.“ _

_ “I love you too.” _

Albus was breathing hard, headache getting worse and he needed to calm down, but couldn’t. He needed to sit down as he couldn’t focus anymore and he then forced himself to stay composed, but he didn’t. The man could clearly see that his face was pale, his breathing was hard and uneven, struggling to get air into his lungs. It was painful.

“R-remember what?” asked Albus.

Albus could swear that he saw a hint of tears in the other’s eyes. “Never mind,” he whispered and Albus stumbled back. He needed to get the hell out of there. The longer he stayed in there, the worse he felt. The more he remembered, the more desperate he was feeling. He needed… he needed… he didn’t know. A loud hiss left his mouth and he leaned against the wall, the man looking at him worried. “Are you okay, sir?” asked the other as he didn’t want to upset him again. It was useless, if he didn’t remember him then…

“My head,” stammered Albus and the other nodded. “Hurts, oh god it hurts,” he stammered and the man was nervously chewing on his lower lip. 

“Take a seat,” he muttered and then took Albus to an empty chair. “I’ll go get you a glass of water,” he said and only then Albus could sense a hint of an accent. German. Albus knew that he was German, he didn’t need to ask how he knew it. He just did and-

“Okay,” stammered Albus and then threw his head forward.

_ Summer. _

_ Blood pact. Vial. Holding hands. Promising each other forever. _

_ First kiss. _

_ For the greater good. _

Albus gasped. He felt sick.

_ Betrayal. Hurt. Heartbreak. Pain.  _

_ Betrayal _

_ Their last fight, Albus winning. _

Albus felt tears gathering in his eyes and he gasped as he watched the man coming closer to him. The destruction that he brought, Albus could remember it now. How many people were dead because of him? 

_ Albus crying as he put  _ **_Gellert_ ** _ behind bars of his own castle. _

_ Years of pain, struggle.  _

_ His fault… Ariana… abandoned family. _

_ Walls around his heart, never loving again. Promising everything to do that was in his power to make up from the bad he did. It was never enough.  _

_ He brought destruction, Albus blindly followed him. Out of love.  _

_ Gellert. _

_ Gellert. _

_ Gellert. _

“Stop,” whispered Albus as he was holding his head. This was too much, overwhelming as all of his memories came rushing back at once. “Stop this,” whispered Albus, begging, looking up at Gellert, who was doing completely nothing. Gellert himself was freaked out, he didn’t know what to do to help Albus.

Unlike Albus, he had all of his memories intact ever since he was born. The biggest irony was that he was born a Muggle in this life and well… this was a good learning experience. To see that Muggles were valuable, though, he had remorse for his actions before as well. But now… in this new life, he could properly see just how wrong his ways were and how many innocent lives were lost because of him. But that was in his life before, now he was just an owner of a coffee shop. A nobody. Magic world hidden from him for good and he wasn’t going to go out to seek it. 

Gellert moved to Britain just a month ago, started a little coffee shop of his own, enough to get by. He wanted to escape from his past life, he had been running his entire life, that was until Albus stepped inside of his coffee shop that day. He didn’t seem to remember him, which was… heart-breaking, but at the same time, Gellert was happy, thinking that Albus couldn’t remember. Was better off not knowing who he was. 

“I’m not doing anything,” whispered Gellert and Albus looked down, eyes wide when he saw that Gellert took his hand into his own. Albus shuddered. He could remember his name. He could remember everything, the good and the bad. But mostly the bad and he wanted to cry. Albus withdrew his hand and Gellert’s heart broke. “I’m sorry,” stammered Gellert as he didn’t know what to do either. Seeing Albus was too much for him as well. He felt terrible, guilt… was clawing at his chest, because knowing what he did to him in their past lives killed him. 

Albus loved him, he betrayed him and his love. 

“Sorry?” whispered Albus. 

“Here, water,” said Gellert instead and handed the glass to Albus. 

“T-thank you,” stammered Albus and then closed his eyes, headache finally going down and he was feeling a lot better, but still… he wanted to run, yet he was unable to do so. Maybe it was for the best if he left and they never met again. After what he did… “I need to go,” stammered Albus then and stood up.

Still dizzy, he almost collapsed, but Gellert wrapped his arm around him before he fell and Albus froze. “Watch out,” whispered Gellert and Albus’ heart was beating like crazy and tears were in his eyes, because now he could recall  _ everything. _

“Let me go, Gellert,” blurted out Albus and Gellert froze. 

“You… you remember me,” whispered Gellert and Albus bit his lower trembling lip.

“…would be better if I didn’t,” he said with a small voice and slowly started walking to the door.

“Al, wait-”

“Don’t,” ordered Albus. “Don’t come looking after me. Forget we met, understood?” he asked and Gellert made a step back, then bowed his head down and nodded. He was in no place to want more than that and he just… nodded. He was the one who hurt Albus so much in the first place, so he should stay put.

“I understand,” said Gellert and Albus stormed out, heading home. 

Albus made a promise to himself that he would avoid Gellert at all cost, that it was the first and last time that they met in this life time… but little did he know that destiny had other plans for the two of them. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

It has been around a week ever since he ran into Gellert and his life had completely turned upside down. There were no new memories, much to his luck, because the ones that he managed to remember were anything but pleasant and he was forced to deal with them all on his own and he honestly didn’t know what to do. The thing that hurt the most was how he betrayed his family, what happened to his sister, Ariana… he still blamed himself and he shuddered. He knew that it was a part of his old life, he needed to let it go for the sake of his mental health, but he couldn’t. Ignorance was a bliss and he hated Gellert for making him remember. 

Gellert literally tore out a piece of him and he was never the same ever since what happened. It was thanks to him that he spent the rest of his life pretty much alone as he didn’t allow himself to open up his heart to anyone from that point on as he did to him. At least in the romantic sense. It all started and ended with Gellert, it was for the best. For his sake and for the sake of others. Plus, he somehow managed to convince himself that he didn’t deserve to love and to be loved in return in that kind of sense. He was foolish enough the first time, completely deceived by Gellert. His brother tried warning him, but he realised his mistakes only after it was too late and now… well, now he was suffering the consequences. 

But, what was the most funny thing of them all. He  _ loved _ Gellert still, even after all that he had put him through. He hated him and he loved him, hated himself for loving him. It was heartbreaking truth be told and he wished that he could somehow just forget him. But of course it didn’t work that way and all that he could do at this point was grit his teeth, carry on and pretend that nothing had happened. Just… Gellert was a mistake from his past life and he wasn’t going to take the same path again. Or so he thought. 

From that point on, Albus was avoiding that coffee shop for his dear life, not even wanting to think about it. It was creepy; why did Gellert serve the sweets that were Albus’ favourites and why did he have so many paintings that were a part of Albus’ past life. It was so that he had something to remember his past lover, but that didn’t cross Albus’ train of thinking and he just shuddered, still finding it creepy and he then groaned. Gellert had always been a creep, in a way and he pressed his lips together. Well, not that it mattered; this was his second chance in life and he wasn’t going to make the same mistakes again. He was ready to turn a new page in his book. Gellert was gone for good. 

That day was Saturday, so that usually meant that he visited his favourite mall in London. Despite all of the past memories and all, Albus had a thing for fashion and wasn’t going to allow Gellert of all people to prevent him from having fun on the weekends. So, he was in a quite good mood as he made his way to the mall, happily humming to himself as he walked and a little smile was on his face as he stepped inside and was welcomed by warmth. Yep, outside was freezing, so stepping inside felt like heaven. He then rubbed his palms together, Gellert long forgotten as he finally went  _ shopping.  _

**

Living alone in London sucked; Gellert had only moved there a little over a month ago, but he still didn’t have much friends. Most of the people that he knew were from his workplace, so it was strictly a professional relationship that he had with them. So, needless to say, he was pretty lonely. People somehow didn’t find him interesting, or were just turned off by his personality. Gellert didn’t know what the true reason was and he tried to convince himself that he was okay on his own, which he was. He was okay until he met Albus by chance the last week and it was from then that it all started spiraling down and out of control. 

Gellert’s reason for coming to London was… well, he didn’t really know. Something was telling him to go there, to start his own business in there, so that was what he did. He moved to London and started his own coffee shop. He intended to make his work a happy place for him, a space where he would feel at peace, so that was why he put up so many pictures on the wall that reminded him of Albus. It was also for this same reason that he served the sweets that he remembered Albus would like; he wanted to have a piece of Albus with him and that made him happy.

Gellert had no idea how reincarnation worked, so never in a million years did he think that he would get to meet Albus again. He didn’t think it was possible, until the day that the man stepped into his coffee shop and Gellert was over the Moon to see him again. He looked exactly like he did in his past life, just a lot happier. And most importantly; he remembered him. Gellert was happy about it at first, but then it all came crashing down on him when he heard Albus’ words… that he never wanted to see him again. Gellert knew that he shouldn't be too surprised, he wasn’t. But having Albus hear that  _ twice _ to him now, telling him that his life would be better off if he never met him… it killed him still. 

Gellert then remembered one of his worst memories that he held of his previous life; the day that Albus defeated him. Their last fight, it was… emotional. Gellert hid it well, but Albus was sobbing when he finally had Gellert admit defeat, arms bound with magic behind his back, kneeling in front of Albus as his hand that was gripping onto the wand was shaking and Gellert couldn’t even bring himself to look the man into his eyes, because he knew exactly how much he hurt him.  _ I love you _ , was what Albus said to him.  _ I wish I never met you, I wish I never fell in love with you. Did you even ever love me? _

Those were the last words that Albus said to him before he was dragged away from him and wasn’t given the chance to tell him that he loved him. Despite it all, his feelings for Albus weren’t a lie, but his silence… made Albus think the other way. But the words wouldn’t come out, they stayed in Gellert’s throat, burned on his tongue, but they wouldn’t come out. So, when he was dragged away, he could swear he heard Albus collapsing on his knees and then… sobbing. He was sobbing so hard, Gellert shuddering and he puffed his cheeks. ALbus’ eyes once shined with excitement and love, but the way he was looking at him then… sadness, betrayal and coldness. Single-handedly he ruined the man and he couldn’t let it go. Never. Not then, not now. 

Meeting Albus gave Gellert the chance to make it up to Albus, to show him how much he regretted doing what he did in his past life. In the past life, he brought destruction, but not anymore. He was a changed man, but ,Albus wouldn’t even stay around long enough for him to tell him that. Well… maybe it was for the best, tears in Gellert’s eyes as Albus stayed on his mind for much longer and he then sighed sadly, suddenly finding himself in front of a mall and he narrowed his eyes. He didn’t really know how or when he came to there; he didn’t even know that there was a mall. It was… weird, but there was the same feeling… that told him to move to Britain present again in his gut and his stomach made a flip and then he chewed on his lower lip. In the end, he decided to go inside after all. If not for anything else, then he could at least warm himself up. He didn’t care much for shopping. 

Gellert was feeling sorry for himself as he was walking around the shopping mall, looking like a little cloud of sadness travelling around, head bowed down, hands tucked in his pockets and he was loudly sighing, trying not to think of the past too much as he knew that he needed to let it go. However, as he was wandering around the mall and was looking through the windows of various shops, he saw… no, it couldn’t be! He rubbed his eyes and then went closer a little bit, eyes wide when he realised that his eyes weren’t deceiving him; he really saw Albus, standing in line to try on some clothes and he felt a stab of guilt at his heart again. He knew that he should probably walk away, but instead, he just went inside and hid behind a rack of clothes and started spying on Albus.

Albus was checking up on his phone something, so that gave Gellert the perfect opportunity to take a good and long look at him and a sad smile spread across his face when he saw him. He was just as adorable and as handsome as he remembered him to be. He didn’t get the opportunity to proper look at him back at his coffee shop. Albus wasn’t feeling too good, so he was more worried about looking after him than to be looking at how he looked. He still didn’t get why Albus had such a migraine back then. Was he sick? Gellert hoped not. 

Albus then put his phone back into his pocket and then looked towards Gellert, who froze and then quickly hid behind the rack again and took in a deep breath. Well, that was close, he almost got caught! After he counted to ten, he looked from behind the rack again and flinched, Albus was still looking his way! He went back down, but Albus was still looking his way. Albus had sharp eyes, he knew when someone was watching him and at the moment he had a creepy feeling that some creep was onto him. Gellert looked up again and it was at that moment that their eyes met, all of the colour leaving Albus’ face and suddenly he wasn’t in the mood to be shopping again, heart beating fast and Gellert panicked. 

Albus was furious. Wasn’t it enough that he ruined his past life, was he now trying to ruin this one too?! Albus was tempted to just walk away, but his blood was boiling with anger, convinced that Gellert was doing this on purpose. Gellert was that Albus was coming closer to him and his heart fell to the pit of his stomach when he noticed the look in his eyes. The same… the same as when he captured him. Broken, disappointed, heartbreak… coldness and he just turned around, in a hurry to leave the store. 

However, as he was in a hurry, he didn’t really watch where he was going and he ended up running right into the rack of clothes on his right and then stumbled over it. There was a loud crush, Gellert and the rack both falling on the ground and Albus could hear a flood of German cursing. Gellert sitting on the floor, surrounded by clothes, looking like a dishevelled sparrow and cursing like a sailor wasn’t the first for Albus and it made him remember of the first time it happened. When Gellert tried to impress him with a potion that he didn’t know how to brew correctly and it ended up in… a loud boom and flames. That made Albus snort and when Gellert looked at him, he quickly stopped laughing as happiness was replaced by betrayal and Gellert whined.

“It’s not funny, Al,” whined Gellert and his eyes widened when a woman working in there came to the two of them and she didn’t look too happy. Albus already knew that they were in trouble and even though if it was nothing serious, he was angry. No matter what, Gellert always brought trouble for him and he bowed his head down as the woman asked them to leave as it was clear to her that the two of them knew each other even though Albus claimed that he didn’t know Gellert.

Angry, Albus marched out of the store and Gellert was almost running after him, feeling ever worse. Wow, he couldn’t do anything right, could he? Wanting to apologise, he ran after Albus out of the mall, Albus bloody angry because the idiot wouldn’t stop following him. “Albus, wait,” stammered Gellert as he was chasing after Albus down the streets of London, but Albus was having none of it. He wanted to get as far away as problem, emotions running high. One look at Gellert sent him into rage and he was really close at snapping at Gellert.

“Leave me alone,” said Albus firmly.

“No,” stammered Gellert. “I’m sorry that I-”

“What part of ‘I never want to see you again’ you don’t understand?!” asked Albus with a stern voice as he turned around to Gellert, who then looked down. “Just… leave me alone. Haven’t you done enough damage already?” asked Albus with a small voice and Gellert flinched. There he went; bringing up the past again. 

“Can I...” stammered Gellert. He wanted to apologise. Just say how sorry he was and then he would be gone. He would never bother Albus again, but he wanted… needed him to know how much he despised himself for what he did to him. “I just,” he stammered and Albus rolled his eyes. “Please… let me just apologise and-and then I’ll be gone for good,” said Gellert and looked down as his voice was shaking. “Just hear me out and you’ll never see me again. Not in this life or any of the future ones,” he said and Albus could literally hear Gellert’s heart cracking. But, he wasn’t go easy on him, so he just grabbed his wrist and dragged him into an empty alley, so that Gellert could be done.

“Talk,” said Albus, barking his orders. “I don’t have the whole day,” he said and Gellert’s eyes welled up again. Albus couldn’t wait for him to be done. That… that cut into his like a knife and he smiled sadly.

“I’m sorry,” said Gellert and Albus scoffed. “For everything,” whispered Gellert and Albus folded his arms on top of his chest. “For what happened to your sister,” he said and Albus felt his lower lip shaking as his control over his own emotions was slowly slipping away and he didn’t like it. “I didn’t… if I could go back to-to that time I would,” he stammered. “I’d make it so we never met,” he said and he closed his eyes, voice breaking and his chest tightened as it was very hard for him to breathe. He knew that no matter how many times he’d say it that there was nothing that could make it right. “I’m so sorry for all the pain I brought you. I didn’t… I didn’t know… I wasn’t thinking with my heart, it was just… my lust for power at the time. I-”

Albus didn’t say anything as Gellert’s voice trailed off, Albus feeling his tears fearing to fall as well, but he was too stubborn. He wanted to show Gellert that he had moved on. But Gellert, he was sobbing, thinking of all the murdered people, families that were broken because of him. 

“O-on the day that you defeated me… before they locked me up, you asked me something. Do you still remember?” asked Gellert and then looked up at Albus, who was silent, but then the older slowly nodded and looked up as well, tears visible on his cheeks. 

“Did you?” asked Albus with a small voice, whispering. “Ever truly love me?”

“Of course,” said Gellert, Albus’ face twisting in pain and he had to take his time before he even allowed himself to breathe again. “I always loved you,” said Gellert and Albus hid his face into his palms. There he was… decades thinking that Gellert never truly loved him. But now… he was saying that he actually loved him all along? Maybe that summer wasn’t an entire lie after all. Albus was quietly sobbing and Gellert puffed his cheeks. “I never stopped...”

Hearing down, it broke Albus completely and Gellert had to look down again. 

“Stop it, Gellert,” begged Albus.

“T-that’s all,” stammered Gellert. “I know there’s not enough words for me to apologise properly. I don’t expect to be ever forgiven for what I did. I know I never will forgive myself for what I did to you… to all those innocent people,” he said and his face was twisted in pain. “I just wanted you to know that I… nevermind,” said Gellert and then made a step back. “That’s all. Now… I’ll go and I promise you’ll never have to see me again,” he said despite everything in him screaming that he wanted to be with Albus. 

Albus was a mess, he truly was. Hearing Gellert say that he still loved him, all this time, how much he regretted what he did in the past… Albus wanted to believe him. To trust him, it would be so much easier, but he couldn’t bring himself to be this vulnerable again. Gellert destroyed him, so it would be better if they never met. And yet, the thought of never seeing Gellert again scared him. 

“Damn it, Gellert,” said Albus as he was again fighting back his tears. “When will you allow me to move on? I-I was just getting over you… why did you have to-” he said and then his voice trailed off, Gellert’s eyes wide and he came closer to Albus, who lifted a finger up. “Don’t,” he sniffled. “It would be better if we don’t ever see each other again,” said Albus and Gellert choked up again. But there was a part of him that didn't want to let Gellert go just yet. He remorsed the horrible things he did, he was a changed man. That much was clear to Albus. Then again, it was maybe just his wishful thinking, but… he was prepared to give Gellert another chance. He still loved him, but he wasn't about to admit that. No.

“Yeah, I'll-”

“But maybe,” stammered Albus and Gellert looked at him. “Destiny brought us together for a reason,” he said and Gellert's eyes widened. “Maybe this is… we both got another chance,” he said. “Can't be a coincidence that we met, s-so maybe we could start over,” said Albus and Gellert swallowed back a sob. Was Albus for real?! “The man you used to be, that's not you anymore,” he said. 

“Al-” started Gellert, but then burst in tears and Albus bit his lower lip.

“We can't go back to what we used to have, but,” said Albus and wiped his tears. “We could be friends?”

Gellert was sure that this wasn't real; but there was Albus, extending his hand out, prepared to give him another chance. And Gellert wanted to tell him how happy that made him, but all he could was nod, take Albus’ hand and cry. He got another chance to be Albus’  _ friend _ and he wasn't going to mess it up. Not again.

Albus didn't know why he gave Gellert another chance. Maybe it was the way he apologised, or how he told him that he loved him still. Or maybe it was those eyes that convinced him to give him another chance. If being reborn taught him anything was that everyone deserved another chance. That didn't mean that he had completely forgiven Gellert. That would take much longer, but for now they were good. 

They were friends.

Maybe they would be able to help each other to let go of their past lives and finally start living a new one.


	3. Chapter 3

Things between Albus and Gellert were still strained. Albus mentioned them starting a friendship, but it didn't work that way, forgiving Gellert was definitely a process and Gellert couldn't blame him. He allowed Albus to take as much time as needed to put what happened between them behind. While Albus was working to work out things between them, Gellert was sure that he would never be able to forgive himself for what he had done to Albus and to so many other people. Albus told him several times already that he should forgive himself for what he did in his past life; that this wasn't him anymore, but it didn't work so fast. Also, there were some things that you could forgive and there were some that you could never forgive.

 

It had been around a month since Albus and Gellert decided to give their friendship a new try and so far things had been pretty awkward, mainly because it was hard. It was hard on Gellert to pretend that they were only friends _._ It was hard not to wrap his arms around Albus, the wish to kiss and keep him close was too big, but he managed to push it deep down. Lock it inside of his heart and never let it resurface. Well, that was what he wished could happen, but the yearning never went away. Albus told him that he was moving on and he respected that. Albus said that they could never go back to what they used to have. Gellert respected and understood that, but it didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt, because it did.

Albus, on the other hand, was happier, kind of. He was happy, because he had found it somewhere within him to forgive to Gellert what he had done to him. Not only to Gellert, but he was slowly in the process of letting go of everything that he did. The blame for what happened to Ariana was slowly fading away. His heart still hurt when he thought about it, but… he realised that it wasn’t his fault. It was an accident what happened and realising that made a lot of the pain lessen. So, he was much happier these days, happy that he also had Gellert around, even though Gellert seemed very distant.

It was weekend and the two of them were spending time at Albus’ place; Albus finally invited Gellert over to his place, so that they could hang out. That was the first time that Gellert was invited to Albus’ place and he was very excited, happily grinning as he was looking around the apartment. It was so Albus, smiling up to his ears. Albus’ sense of décor was really _extra_ and he chuckled as Albus announced that he had made them some tea. As Albus was gone in the kitchen, Gellert’s smile faded just a little bit and he sighed sadly. Again, as Albus returned with two cups of tea and some biscuits, deadly silence fell between them and Gellert slowly slipped in his sad mood, which was something he used to do a lot, was what Albus noticed.

“How’s the tea?” asked Albus, wanting to end the awkward silence and Gellert smiled, shrugging as he made a little sip of his tea and then hummed in delight.

“Good,” said Gellert and Albus smiled happily, but then there was silence again and Gellert looked down, his eyes fixated on the tea as he was trying to come up with something to say. He didn’t want to come off as rude to be constantly quiet around Albus, especially now that he was spending some alone time with him. Gellert’s heart made a jump when he realised that they were indeed completely alone for the first time and he was… his heart was thumping loudly, afraid that even Albus would be able to hear it. Gellert looked nervous and Albus sighed, scooting a bit closer.

“You’re nervous,” stated Albus and Gellert looked at him.

“Am not,” said Gellert softly and Albus narrowed his eyes.

“Yes, you are,” said Albus and folded his arms on top of his chest. “Which I can’t understand why,” stated Albus and pressed his lips together. He hadn’t done anything that would indicate this type of behaviour from his friend and he sighed internally. Right, he said that they would be friends, but Albus still had feelings for Gellert. He tried getting rid of them, but it didn’t work. At least not so fast and he then arched an eyebrow, because Gellert still kept quiet. “C’mon, cheer up for a change,” said Albus and gently nudged Gellert with his shoulder, who smiled and then shrugged.

“I’m trying,” stammered Gellert and then his grip around the cup tightened. “But I can’t,” he stammered and then bit his lower lip, eyes fixated on the floor and he just… his lower lip started trembling like crazy. With Albus around, pretending that everything was okay, made things tough. Before, when he was alone, he was moping around all the time and feeling sorry for himself. There were times when he broke down a lot too. He still did.

“Can’t?” asked Albus. “Why? I thought you were happy we’re friends,” said Albus, offended a little bit, but Gellert slowly looked up and gave him a little smile.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m elated we’re on speaking terms now, but,” stammered Gellert and finally put the cup of tea down and took in a deep breath. “Just,” he whispered. “Being around you all the time is both the best and the worst,” he said and then quickly shook his head because he could see sadness setting in Albus’ eyes. “No, Al, I didn’t mean it like that,” he quickly said. “I love y-” he started, but then bit his tongue and his voice trailed off, Albus’ eyes widening and his heart was hammering now as well. “I love spending time with you,” corrected himself, Gellert, fingers digging into his jeans. “But also, it makes me remember all the horrible things I-”

“Gellert, don’t,” said Albus with a stern voice. “We’ve been through this,” he hissed as he didn’t want to keep on bringing up the past. “What happened in the past is over. That was then and now is now. I told you we have another chance and-”

“I wish it was so easy,” said Gellert with a small, broken voice and he chewed on his lower lip as he tried to keep it together for Albus’ sake, but in the end, he just bowed his head down. It was horrible, he would never be able to let go of his past, he was sure of it. “You didn’t,” stammered Gellert and swallowed back the tears that were present in his eyes and he sniffled. “You didn’t kill people,” stammered Gellert and ran his fingers through his messy hair, biting his lower lip and then he shuddered as flashes of his past flashed in front of his eyes. “So many… I’ve killed so many, Al,” he whispered and shook his head. “Children, I’ve killed-”

“Gellert Grindelwald killed those people, not you,” whispered Albus and his heart twisted in pain for his friend. Yes, he saw it then just how much Gellert had changed, that he was a completely different man now. Grindelwald was hungry for power, but this Gellert was nothing like that. He was the kindest soul that he had ever met. Even in his past life, Gellert did come to realise that what he did was twisted and wrong on so many levels. “You’re not that person anymore,” said Albus and then placed his hand onto Gellert’s back, gently rubbing Gellert’s back in a desperate attempt to get his friend to calm down, but it didn’t do much as Gellert was still on the verge of tears and he tried breathing normally, but couldn’t.

“But, Al-” started Gellert, Albus quieting him down with just a look and Gellert looked down again, but just sat there in silence, softly sniffling while Albus kept on rubbing his back, drawing uneven patterns against his shirt, trying his best to calm him down. He was desperate to make Gellert understand that he _needed_ to let go of his past. That was the only thing if he wanted to enjoy _this_ life, to live in the moment and not dwell about the past. It wouldn’t do him any good. It took Albus a while to realise it, but after he was able to forgive himself, he felt a lot happier.

“No buts, Gellert,” said Albus and then scooted ever a bit closer, Gellert tensing up a little bit when he realised just how close Albus was to him and he then hid his face into his palms. “You _need_ to let go of the past,” stated Albus and Gellert shook his head. “If you don’t let go,” he said and bit his lower lip. “It’ll be the end for you. Trust me,” whispered Albus and Gellert snorted. He wanted to believe him, but as long as he was convinced that he didn’t deserve forgiveness, he wouldn’t be able to move forward. Gellert knew that, yet he couldn’t bring himself to even consider letting it go. He made it his life’s goal to be kind, to make up for what he did in the past and-

“I don’t know how,” gasped Gellert and then just bowed his head down, shoulders shaking, which indicated that Gellert was crying. “I can’t, I don’t deserve it,” stammered Gellert and Albus’ heart broke again for him. Gellert’s face was twisted in pain, his entire soul and being were twisting in pain, suffering. He was desperate to end this pain, but convinced that he deserved it at the same time. No matter what Albus seemed to do was enough to convince him otherwise. If Albus managed to forgive him then-

“Let me help you,” whispered Albus and Gellert stiffened. Albus was so kind, he was always such a good person. Always there for him, even when his own brother tried to warn him about Gellert’s true intentions, Albus didn’t want to believe him. He always believed in Gellert and that was what brought to their downfall. Albus always believing him and Gellert knowing that, which meant that he could easily deceive him. That didn’t mean that he didn’t love him, he did, but he manipulated Albus’ love for him. Albus was an amazing person. Merlin, he loved him so much, Gellert feeling so choked up and he slowly lifted his gaze up, tears staining his cheeks and Albus felt his heart twisting again.

“I-I-”

“Gellert,” whispered Albus and gently placed his hand over Gellert’s, who gasped at the touch and he looked down, his eyes unable to move away for a second or so, until he was spoken to again and he looked up, eyes locked with Albus’ beautiful ones and he shuddered when he was drowning in the blue of Albus’ eyes. “Stop being so stubborn for fuck’s sake,” he suddenly said and that snapped Gellert to reality, that this really was a different kind of Albus after all. Albus in his previous life never swore and even if it happened, it happened on very rare occasions.

“But, I’m not-”

“Look,” said Albus and took in a deep breath. “Have you killed anyone in this life?”

“Of course not,” stammered Gellert as he was wiping his tears away.

“Have any wish to off anyone?”

“What? No, of course I-”

“Then stop being so foolish and stubborn and let go of the past,” said Albus, annoyance in his voice. But it was a warm kind of an annoyance, the one that told Gellert just how much Albus cared for him and he slowly looked down, biting his lower lip. “So freaking stubborn, I swear to God,” said Albus and then gently reached forward with his hand, cupped Gellert’s face and lifted it up. That crossed the line of friendship, Albus no longer thinking of what he was doing as he was desperate to make Gellert realise that he needed to let go! “Allow me to help you, I beg you,” whispered Albus. “If destiny brought us together then, well,” whispered Albus. “There needs to be a reason, please,” whispered Albus as his own heart sunk then and he looked down. “Please let me in,” he said. “Let me help you. ”

Gellert's lower lip was still shaking and he closed his eyes when the warmth of Albus’ palms hugged his face and he exhaled slowly, gasping, because that felt a lot like old times. Them hidden in the barn, Albus hugging his face as he brought him closer to kiss him. Their first kiss, thought Gellert and swallowed thickly. Nothing ever felt just as perfect and right as that did; kissing Albus always brought peace to his inner turmoil, shuddering as he could still feel the touch of Albus’ lips against his own. Pushing those memories away, Gellert opened his eyes and then looked at Albus. His thumb was now gently caressing the blond's cheek and Gellert knew that he should pull back. Considering their past, they were walking on a thin line what could be considered as a friendly gesture or so much more. Both of their hearts were yearning for the latter option, Albus pulling back finally when he was snapped back to reality and he withdrew his hand.

Gellert couldn't say no; Al was begging him to help. He was there, prepared to start it all over from beginning, wanting to help Gellert. Again, giving him his all and Gellert only nodded. What else could he do? “Okay,” stammered Gellert and sank his teeth into his lower lip. “I-I'll try,” muttered Gellert and was rewarded by a _huge_ grin from Albus. Gellert only sighed and then looked down, silence falling in between them again. Albus, however, was prepared for it this time.

“So,” started Albus. “What brought you to Britain this time?” he asked as he wanted to end the silence and try to change the topic of conversation.

“Um,” started Gellert and cleared his throat. “I, um, I don't know?” he said and Albus arched an eyebrow. “There was just this _feeling_ , telling me that I needed to do it, to move here and open a coffee shop. Well, interesting enough, baking and stuff have been my passion since I was younger in this life,” said Gellert and Albus snorted.

“I hope you got better,” said Albus and laughed. “You were rubbish at it,” he commented and Gellert smiled a little bit. “Remember the time you tried to prepare that stew?” asked Albus and Gellert's eyes widened. Right, the stew! “Aberforth was so pissed when you turned our kitchen into a complete mess,” said Albus and then started laughing like a madman, Gellert giving him an offended look. “And it tasted horrible!”

“Hey,” chimed Gellert in and his playful side was slowly coming back to him. “It wasn't that bad. Plus I was only 16,” pointed out Gellert.

“It was pretty bad,” teased Albus.

“No, it tasted fine,” protested Gellert and wrinkled his nose when he remembered the taste. “Okay, it was pretty bad, but,” he said and Albus started laughing again loudly and Gellert's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. “I poured all my love for you into it,” said Gellert, annoyed and Albus’ expression softened up.

“You really have, haven't you?” asked Albus and then sighed happily, Gellert grinning and then deadly silence fell in between them. “So,” said Albus as he didn't want things to be awkward again. “Destiny brought you here,” he said with a smile and Gellert nodded.

“Yeah, you could say so,” said Gellert.

“And you decorated the place with bits and pieces of my life? Not creepy at all,” teased Albus and the smile faded from Gellert's face.

“Sorry,” he whispered and looked down.

Albus mentally cursed as he didn't mean to make Gellert feel like crap again. However, Gellert soon recovered and sighed. “And what do you do?” asked Gellert.

“Work at a boring insurance company,” groaned Albus and then shook his head, shuddering. “Let's not talk about that,” said Albus and Gellert laughed.

After that, they talked about random things; how their family looked now. Albus was an only child, while Gellert had a younger sister, who was still home with his parents. It was an odd feeling; having different parents and siblings in this life, yet both of them loved their current families just as much as their previous ones. They laughed as they were chatting, slowly growing closer little by little as the awkwardness was melting away. Then the subject got a bit more serious; love department and Gellert was hoping and praying that Albus was single.

“After the last bloke, I'm quitting dating for a while,” said Albus and shuddered. So, he was single. Gellert said nothing as realisation that Albus was with someone else than him started sinking in and he looked rather disappointed.

“Oh,” said Gellert. “So you've been with someone,” he stated and Albus nodded.

“Yeah,” said Albus and narrowed his eyes. “Surely you were too?” he asked and Gellert only bowed his head down and then shook his head. “No?” asked Albus and his jaw dropped. “You're joking. Not even in this life?”

“No,” stammered Gellert. “I-I couldn't.”

Albus’ eyes widened and he bit his lower lip; Gellert still loved him. Of course, it made sense. This friendship thing was bloody difficult and Albus tried to lighten up the mood. “So, not even a kiss?”

“No,” whispered Gellert. “After you… I haven't been with anyone else,” he muttered and Albus felt his own cheeks reddening. “Suppose it's a bit weird and-”

“Not weird at all,” said Albus, trying to show that there was no shame in Gellert not kissing anyone yet in this life. In fact, he found it adorable. “Just… I don't know,” he said, knowing that he needed to change the topic of their conversation. “How about I get us some more tea?” blurted out Albus and Gellert nodded.

“Y-yeah,” stammered Gellert.

Flustered, Albus stormed off to the kitchen as his heart was hammering like crazy. This was ridiculous, he was falling for Gellert all over again and he cursed as he peeked inside of the living room, where Gellert was cursing in German then, telling himself to snap the fuck out of it. Albus understood all of it; he took German in school, not knowing why he felt so attracted to it then, but now he bloody did.

Gellert was falling for Albus all over again as well.

This was ridiculous. Both were adults now, yet were blushing as if they were teenagers all of the sudden. It took Albus quite a while before he got himself together and finally headed back to Gellert. Neither of them dared to speak of what happened before but were still both internally screaming. However as the day progressed, they grew closer and that… meant more to Gellert than anything else. There was no more of that horrible awkwardness.


	4. Chapter 4

''Al, you're making a mess,'' said Gellert as he was laughing loudly and Albus groaned and then looked down. Yes, he was indeed making a mess. The two of them were currently at Gellert's. It was Sunday, which meant that it was time for Gellert to bake for his little coffee shop and Albus decided that he was going to help his friend out. What he thought it would be a fun way to spend the afternoon was turning into something horrible as the cake batter was everywhere but in the tin. While Gellert was working on his own chocolate cake, Albus was struggling on making his own one as well. He thought that if Gellert had an extra hand, the baking process would speed up. But, boy, was he mistaken. 

Before, Gellert was too focused on working on his own cake, but then he glanced to see how Albus was doing and he just started laughing. Luckily, Albus was wearing an apron, which was now covered with the cake batter and Albus wanted to die because he had turned Gellert’s kitchen into a horror show. As he was mixing things, he let go of the mixer by accident and now there was batter everywhere basically. He closed his eyes and honestly wanted to cry. This was beyond embarrassing and clicked with his tongue. Gellert made it look so easy!

“Wait, I can still fix it,” said Albus and then rubbed his palms together. He cleaned up himself a little bit and then gave Gellert thumbs up. He was sure that his cake would be a success; he was stubborn enough and Gellert only laughed. “Don’t laugh,” said Albus as Gellert laughing at him was  _ very _ distracting and in the end, Gellert shut up and just watched Albus work his magic. However, now Gellert was watching his every move  _ very _ carefully, which made poor Albus even more nervous. In the end, he was somehow able to get  _ some _ of the batter into the tin and he proudly smiled. “There,” he said and Gellert snorted. 

“You’re doing great,” said Gellert and Albus didn’t know if he was making fun of him or not. He narrowed his eyes and watched Gellert work on his own thing, going closer and he smiled. Gellert really looked happy when he was decorating the cake; his strawberry vanilla cake was already baked and was now just needing some finishing touches, Albus caught up in watching Gellert put the icing on the cake and he then looked away, going to his own miserable looking thing that was supposed to be a cake after being baked. 

“Time for baking,” announced Albus excitedly and Gellert felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the bright smile on Albus’ face. He nodded and then put the cake into the oven. Now all that Albus could do was wait, he didn’t want to mess with any of Gellert’s already baked stuff, so he went to his bowl, in which there was still a bit of batter, dipped his finger in and then licked it clean. “Oh, this is good,” said Albus and Gellert looked at him, shaking his head.

“Don’t eat that, Al,” said Gellert. “It’s raw,” he then added and went over to him, but Albus wasn’t listening and was already trying more of the remaining batter. Gellert rolled his eyes; it didn’t surprise him really, considering what big fan of sweets Albus was. But still, he didn’t want Albus to have a stomach ache, so he wanted to take the bowl from him. “Come on, give me that,” said the younger one.

“No can do,” said Albus and turned around, thus hiding the bowl behind his back. 

“Albus,” said Gellert and Albus started laughing. 

Gellert stepped closer, trapping Albus against the counter with his own body, neither of them too aware of that at the time. Then Gellert reached around with his hand, in attempt to get the bowl, but then just froze when he realised the position they were in; Gellert’s arm around Albus’ waist, while the older one was petrified as well and unable to look away from Gellert’s beautiful eyes. Gellert let out a hitched breath, Albus shuddering as he could feel Gellert’s hot breath against his lips. 

Their lips were just a few centimetres away, Albus’ heart leaping to his throat, cheeks red and his breathing was fast. Gellert could feel his blood rushing through his veins, pumping adrenaline all over his body and if it wasn’t for the sound of the oven, announcing that the lemon squares were baked, Gellert wasn’t sure of what he would do. Snapping back to reality, Gellert quickly pulled back and cleared his throat. “T-the lemon squares, they’re, um, done, yes,” stammered Gellert and Albus nodded, quickly turning around as well and he closed his eyes.

That was so close! Albus knew that every part of him wished that the oven wouldn’t end the moment, that they would kiss. Yes, it was him, who said that they couldn’t go back to what they once had, but now he realised how foolish he was for even saying that. Disappointed that they didn’t kiss, Albus huffed under his breath and just stood there, staring at the bowl, trying to even out his breathing and get his racing heart under control. 

Again, there was dead silence in between them, Albus looking at Gellert, who was now just silently working on the chocolate icing for Albus’ cake and the older one chewed on his lower lip. It looked like Gellert was feeling guilty, which he was. He was angry with himself that he couldn’t control himself around Albus; no matter how hard he tried, it was useless. He could never be just  _ friends _ with Albus. Yet, he’d still try. There was no way he would let Albus walk out of his life for the second time now. He’d rather quietly suffer by Albus’ side than to not have him at all. 

“Um, the icing,” said Gellert and Albus looked over to him and nodded, slowly coming closer. Gellert was now mixing it with the spatula and smiled, bringing it up to Albus’ lips. “Try it, tell me if it needs something more,” said Gellert. With a smile, Albus tried some of the icing and then happily purred. Tasted good, needed more chocolate. There was never too much chocolate.

“More chocolate,” said Albus and Gellert started laughing. Of course, Albus would say that and he nodded, adding more of it, Albus happily watching him again. Gellert gave him the spatula to try again and Albus nodded. “Perfect,” said Albus happily and Gellert started laughing happily, because he was just so happy, sighing then as Albus moved around the kitchen and located some of the remaining whipped cream from the strawberry cake. “Can I?” asked Albus. 

“Be my guest,” said Gellert, finding Albus adorable. He was happy that his love for sweets didn’t die out; he really was in love with them in the previous life as well and Gellert sighed as his thoughts wandered off to the past again. He was feeling better about it, now. He still didn’t forgive himself completely, but during the last couple of months, he was somehow able to overcome some of it with Albus’ help. It was easy to forgive others, but forgiving yourself was the hardest, was what Gellert realised. In the past, he tried to justify his actions for what he did. And now trying to let go of all of that was a  _ long _ process. 

Albus noticed that Gellert went quiet all of the sudden and he knew very well what Gellert was doing; thinking about the past again. Albus was happy that Gellert was slowly in the process of letting it go, but he knew that it needed a long time, even Albus himself still wasn’t over it completely. There were times that Gellert would still break down, but times like that weren’t occurring very often lately, which was a good sign. Wanting to cheer Gellert up, Albus went closer to him and then put some of the whipped cream onto his finger, booping Gellert onto the tip of his nose with it and Gellert finally snapped back to reality.

“Al?!” he shrieked and then looked down, laughing when he saw that his nose was nose covered with whipped cream, ready to give Albus back the taste of his own medicine and Albus quickly stepped back when he saw that Gellert picked up the spatula with the frosting and he pressed his lips together. “Now, now… don’t run from me, I won’t bite,” said Gellert, laughing as he went closer to his friend, who was now laughing as well. 

“Put that down,” said Albus as he was still backing away, Gellert only laughing as Albus was in a hurry to get away from him. “Gellert, I mean it, I’ll get mad,” said Albus, but the smile on his face told Gellert a completely different story, loud laughter being heard throughout the kitchen as he chased Albus around it for a little while, until he had enough and placed the spatula away, Albus slowly coming closer to him after he made sure that Gellert wouldn’t start chasing him again.

“It’s good to have finally some company over here,” said Gellert and Albus cocked his head to the side. “Usually it’s just me alone in this place and it gets pretty boring even when I do bake,” he said and Albus smiled, happy to see that Gellert was smiling now and worries from before stayed behind for now. “It’s good to have… a friend,” said Gellert and Albus flinched a little bit. Sure, right! They were  _ friends, _ of course. Nothing more than that. 

“Yeah,” said Albus and grinned. “It really was fun baking with you even though I turned your kitchen into a complete mess,” commented Albus and Gellert shook his head, not minding it too much. “A bit of magic would come in handy right now. Just a spell and all of this would be gone,” said Albus and pointed to all of the dirty dishes. 

“Well, Muggles have invented the dishwasher, so I guess we shouldn’t complain too much,” said Gellert and winked, Albus, nodding, but was still of an opinion that it would be faster and more fun to use magic. He really missed it at moments like this and he then walked over to the over, in which his cake was baking. 

“This’ll take a while, yeah?” asked Albus and Gellert nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Great, I’ll prepare us a cup of tea in the meantime,” said Albus happily and clasped his hands together, Gellert rolling his head, but then allowed Albus to go ahead and prepare some tea for the two of them. He guessed tea was Albus’ new guilty pleasure, alongside with the usual sweet-tooth thing. 

Gellert sat on top of the counter on the other side of the kitchen, which was still clean, and just watched Albus move around the kitchen, preparing the tea. Albus had been to Gellert’s apartment quite a few times, so he knew his kitchen pretty well as he had no troubles with finding the tea and cups for him and Gellert. Gellert’s heart was dancing with joy; Albus, in an apron, waltzing around his kitchen… that used to be his fantasy and now it was true. Smiling, he looked down and then sighed happily.

They drank their tea while they were joking about random things, planning to go to the cinema the next weekend and Gellert was looking forward to it. He always loved going out with Albus; it was such a joy. To him, their little trips out were almost like dates. What he didn’t know was that Albus also thought of them more like dates than just hanging out, but he kept that part hidden from Gellert for the time being and was just happily thinking about going to the cinema with Gellert. 

Soon, the most exciting part of baking the cake finally happened! After Albus’ cake had cooled off enough, Gellert told him that it was finally the time to put on the icing and Albus was literally bursting with excitement as he got to do the honours to ice the cake. He was sure it would be easy, a piece of cake if you will. Albus was happily humming as he was coating the cake with icing, while Gellert stood there to watch over him. Albus’ technique was sloppy and awkward, but adorable and he couldn’t help but smile. 

“Stop laughing,” grumbled Albus, because as it turned out, it wasn’t a piece of cake to make the cake look as good as Gellert did! “Gellert, I swear to God, I’ll shove this spatula right up your a-”

“Okay, okay,” said Gellert before Albus could finish his sentence, but chuckled again. “You need to turn the cake if you want the icing to look even and smooth,” he then chimed in when he saw that Albus was having troubles again and Albus glared at him.

“I know what I’m doing,” said Albus stubbornly and Gellert nodded.

“Oh, yeah, I never questioned that,” teased Gellert. “It was just a suggestion and-”

“I can do it just fine by myself,” said Albus, his cheeks red with embarrassment as he couldn’t make the cake look even half decent! This was embarrassing. What the hell?! “Stop laughing,” he grumbled when he heard Gellert’s little giggles. Albus was adorable when he got mad, thought Gellert and he pressed his lips together. “Turn the cake, you say,” scoffed Albus. “It doesn’t work.”

“It’s because you’re going too fast,” said Gellert and Albus clicked with his tongue.

Fine, then he would try to go slower. But, it didn’t work still and he looked at Gellert. “Your technique is broken,” said Albus. He knew how ridiculous it sounded, but he was very embarrassed by this point and he just wanted to disappear. “Laugh one more time and-”

“You’re adorable,” blurted out Gellert and Albus went very red in the face, all of his rumbling gone in a blink of an eye and Gellert understood his mistake, wanting to shift the conversation back to the cake again. “Wait, I’ll help you,” said Gellert and stepped closer to Albus, whose body was still overheating and it didn’t really help that Gellert stepped behind him and reached forward with his hand to hold the plate, while he held Albus’ hand with the other. 

“Gell-”

“Shush and listen,” said the blonde one. 

The place where Gellert’s hand was holding Albus’ felt very warm, Albus clearing his throat and he suddenly became very well aware of the fact just how close Gellert was. He has pressed up again him, Albus trying his best to pay attention. Gellert was completely in his element, so he didn’t really notice that Albus’ hand was shaking. Or how fast and uneven his breathing had gotten. 

“You have to spin the plate slowly,” said Gellert with a low voice and Albus nodded, swallowing thickly as Gellert leaning lower, thus pressing up against him even more. “And keep this hand steady and firm, but gentle at the same time,” he then whispered and Albus shuddered. Gellert smiled and took in a deep breath. “Give it a try,” he then said and Albus nodded.

Albus’ head was spinning, but he somehow managed to do just as Gellert told him and Gellert smiled. “L-like this?” stuttered Albus and Gellert wore a bright smile.

“Yes, very good,” said Gellert happily and the cake was soon ready, looking like a professional himself had decorated it. In the heap of the moment, Gellert leaned closer to Albus and kissed his cheek, the older one freezing in place and it was then that reality finally punched Gellert in the face. Hard. What the hell was he doing?! Standing so close to Albus, not to mention kissing him! He was not respecting Albus’ wish at all as he had crossed the line of friendship  _ again _ , looking down and he pressed his lips together. Yet, he didn’t move away and he wanted to kiss Albus again.

Albus was sure he had a heart attack when he realised that Gellert had kissed him and he closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. It was his own idea for them to be friends, Gellert had always made it loud and clear that his feelings for him… romantic feelings… were still there and Albus was… well, in love with Gellert more than ever. What was he doing? He bit his lower lip as his mind was racing. It was clear and pretty obvious that they both wanted for their relationship to be so much  _ more _ . The hell with it, friendship thing obviously wasn’t working. 

“I’m sorry,” whispered Gellert and Albus shook his head.

“Don’t be,” said Albus quickly and Gellert’s eyes widened. Albus slowly turned around, his heart beating fast like crazy and Gellert was confused. “Never be sorry for the things you feel,” he then quickly added and Gellert narrowed his eyes. Was Albus talking about… his feelings for him? Albus didn’t say anything more and he leaned closer, Gellert wanting to step back, but the older one caught him from running away by cupping his face.

“Al what-” started Gellert, but his voice trailed off when Albus brought his face closer, their lips just a few centimetres away. Albus’ breathing was hard and uneven, his eyes on Gellert’s lips, the only thing on his mind how much he wanted to feel them against his own. 

“Let’s stop pretending,” whispered Albus. “Being friends is leading us nowhere,” said Albus and Gellert’s heart dropped. 

“B-but-”

“Not when we  _ both _ want us to be more than friends,” said Albus and Gellert’s heart skipped a beat. “I love you,” he then finally breathed out, on his chest for months now and now that he finally said it out loud, he felt a thousand pounds lighter. “I love you so mu-” he started, but was then cut off when Gellert grabbed him by the back of his neck and crushed their lips together. 

That was all that Gellert needed to snap. His emotions were overflowing, he had been wanting to hear Albus say that forever now and when he said he loved him still, something inside of him snapped and he kissed Albus.  _ Finally.  _ Albus was caught off guard but didn’t take too long to recover as he quickly returned Gellert the kiss. Gellert’s eyes welled up when he realised that Albus was kissing him back, lower lip trembling as he pressed their lips together one more time, Albus pulling back when he felt something wet on his cheeks and his eyes widened when he realised Gellert was crying.

“Hey, don’t-”

“I love you,” said Gellert, sniffling and he smiled through his tears, kissing Albus’ lips, then his forehead. “Damn it… finally,” he said as his lower lip was shaking and he broke in tears again, kissing every inch of Albus’ face, who was laughing, but then felt himself tearing up as well. “Always… always,” managed to say in between his quiet sobs. “ _ Ich liebe dich, _ ” he then added, switching over to German as he was too overwhelmed to actually talk in English and Albus wrapped his arms around him as Gellert repeated over and over how much he loved Albus, Albus holding him tightly close to himself as he allowed Gellert to take all the time he needed to calm down, tears on his cheeks as well.

_ Yes, finally.  _

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading ^^


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